Student groups and legal experts said they aren’t worried about the federal government using hate crime laws against them, after a federal spokeswomen cited it when asked to clarify the government’s “zero tolerance” policy toward groups supporting the Israel boycott movement.
The Conservative government signalled its intention to use hate crime laws after CBC reporter Neil Macdonald emailed Public Safety Canada asking to clarify what a “zero-tolerance” policy for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement meant. A reply from Josée Sirois, a spokesperson with the agency, cited hate crime laws found in the criminal code.
Dozens of students groups on campuses across the country participate in the movement, including the York Federation of Students, the McMaster Students’ Union (MSU), and Carleton Students Against Israeli Apartheid (CSAIA).
Participating student unions encourage universities to boycott Israeli products and companies, and to divest away from other companies that have worked with the Israeli government. It includes companies such as Hewlett Packard and Lockheed Martin, in order to apply pressure on Israel to end the occupation of lands historically belonging to Arabs.
The phrase “zero-tolerance” was used by Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney in a speech delivered to the United Nations.
“Canada has taken a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination including rhetoric towards Israel, and attempts to delegitimize Israel such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement,” Blaney said.
At a general assembly on March 23, hundreds voted in favour of binding the MSU to endorse the BDS movement.
Ehima Osazuwa, president of MSU, said he and his student union aren’t worried they will be targeted for hate speech by the government.
“We do not practice hate crime here at the McMaster Students Union,” said Osazuwa. “To suggest that McMaster students participated in some form of hate speech . . . is simply egregious.”
Rana Nazzal, a member of CSAIA, called it a “draconian attempt at limiting free speech [that] should worry all Canadians,” and that she is not alarmed by the government’s message.
“[Boycotting] in particular is an immensely non-violent and passive strategy; it is the choice to step back, to not be complicit in the violence of apartheid,” she said.
Over 500 Carleton students have also signed onto the campaign in the past few months, according to Nazzal.
Richard Moon, a law professor at the University of Windsor, said he is not worried student groups will be targeted for hate speech.
“The advocacy of BDS cannot be considered hate speech. Something more and far more extreme would have to be said. The criticism of Israel may seem unfair to some, who believe that Israel is being specifically targeted or that different standards are being applied to a Jewish political community. But even if this were true, the speech is not clearly directed at a religious-ethnic group and is not sufficiently extreme to breach the ban on hate speech,” Moon said.
Moon said he suspects the use of phrases such as “zero-tolerance” is political rhetoric during election year.
“The intention I suspect was not to intimidate BDS supporters, but simply to make an empty gesture of support to Conservative voters who believe that Israel is being subjected to unfair criticism,” Moon said.
